


spare magazines

by kontent



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, Fights, First Meetings, Flirting, Mission Fic, Missions Gone Wrong, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, it's very subtle flirting more like pre-flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-05 18:17:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19045810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kontent/pseuds/kontent
Summary: They meet for the first time with their backs pressed against the hard concrete.Maria knows her name is Natasha Romanov - and yeah, sure, she read her file, but she doesn’tknowher. Maria doesn’t doubt that the other woman must feel the same way about her.





	spare magazines

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gsparkle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gsparkle/gifts).



They meet for the first time with their backs pressed against the hard concrete.

Maria is still in her stilettos and glittery party dress, and she’s sure she never despised high heels more than now. The other woman is wearing dress pants, a button-up and a vest, her cover clearly being part of the staff. Her hair is red, falling in wild curls to her shoulders- Maria sees the soft creases in the curls, notices that it must have been put up before, but she doesn’t have time to figure out if it was a simple bun or something more elaborate.

She knows her name is Natasha Romanov - and yeah, sure, she read her file, but she doesn’t  _ know _ her. Maria doesn’t doubt that the other woman must feel the same way about her.

The sounds of heavy footsteps and a language Maria doesn’t recognize ring through the empty parking lot. Neither of them speaks - they know the other one is S.H.I.E.L.D. and for now, that’s good enough.

Then all hell breaks loose - concrete splinters under the force of too many bullets, and while they are behind a wall that none of these bullets can break down, the air fills with greyish dust, tickling Maria’s nose and throat. 

They know they can’t hide out, but they need at least a weapon or something - and when a man rounds the corner, Maria’s fist breaks his nose on the first try. He stumbles back, stepping back out of cover. The bullet hits his shoulder, forces its way back out through his skin just a second later. It’s not a deadly injury, but it’s painful and gives Maria the opportunity to kick his legs out under him. The man drops like a sack of potatoes, groaning while going down. 

When she grabs both guns off his belt, she silently holds one out behind her, searching the man with the other hand. The gun is grabbed without hesitation, no words spoken between them. It’s nice - the silence is a nice contrast to Barton’s non-stop blabbering (which is okay, Maria really likes Barton, but sometimes she likes hearing her own thoughts, too). Maria doesn’t have time to think about this for too long, grabs the gun and the spare magazines the man has on him and presses herself next to Natasha again. 

The bullets still hit the concrete wall, but now the two women fire back. The problem is: that’s not a strategy that will work for an extended period of time. It takes them only a few minutes to empty their magazines, and Maria presses her back against the wall again, taking a deep breath before she looks for the spare magazines in her purse. A Russian curse rings louder than the gunshots behind them, and before Maria can even  _ think  _ about offering her one of those magazines, the red-headed woman has vanished around the corner. Maria bites back her own curse and resigns herself to covering Natasha’s back. Busy with her task, she doesn’t get to see a lot of what the other woman does to take them down, but she can hear the bodies drop. The bullets stop flying and a sort of deafening silence stretches between them. 

Maria slides around the corner, facing her ally. Her curls are a little mussed, but she doesn’t even seem out of breath. Her sharp eyes meet Maria’s and the silence between them changes from something comfortable to something hesitant, something meant to be broken. 

The spare magazine creates a soft sound as it flies through the air. Natasha catches it without hesitation. Her eyes look vaguely questioning before she looks down on the magazine. Even though there is no smile on her face, Maria just  _ knows _ she is amused. 

The other woman’s eyes meet hers again, and Maria allows herself to smirk at her.

“Next time, just ask.”

Tipping her head to the side, looking a little like a curious cat, Natasha considers her for a moment. Her eyes slide down Maria’s body, taking in the golden fabric covering her body, the carefully chosen jewellery with just a little too much pointy ends, the gun in her hand.

“Maybe I will”, she says, and it almost sounds like a promise.

****


End file.
